Prog drummer for the stars (Kevin Gilbert, Spock's Beard, Kaviar, Neal Morse, Genesis), Nick D'Virgilio has taken on a very lofty of recording a tribute to the pinnacle work of Gabriel-era Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. With the help of Mark Hornsby in the production seat and other studio musicians, D'Virgilio applies his own "variations" to the piece with mixed results. When I first heard of this project, I was very excited at the prospect of something new of something old and with D'Virgilio as the creative force, it had to be crème-fresh right? Unfortunately….no.

Although interesting to listen to, it is confused in it's approach. Given the fact that tribute albums can be risky to begin with, they either seek to recreate note for note the original source or they "make it their own" with a new a sometime juxtaposed rendition. This CD tries to do both and suffers in the end for it.

The opening and title track introduces a new instrument pallet with horns. Okay, I'll bite, but the underlying music is note for note the original. Why not allow the horns to influence the piece? Strings are later introduced in "In the Cage", taking away from the drive and urgency from the original.

What was appealing about Peter Gabriel's swan song to Genesis, it was written around the dirty and rough-hewn storyline. Raw and visceral, dark and disturbing with jagged rhythms and sharp edged chords. The original had a great deal going for it. The original "Back in NYC" was teetering on heavy metal and D'Virgilio's version is anemic in comparison as the horns and Manhattan Transfer vocals detract from the power and energy. Admittedly in the press release, he finds blues and soul in the original, yet really does little to reflect that. The other thematic factor the original did well was to contrast the storyline with funny and humorous instrument voicing. "Counting Out Time" here does that well in that a New Orleans ragtime application is done to the nines. The second piece that reaches it's intent is "Carpet Crawlers" with the strings working to a haunting effect. Beautiful vocals and harmonies carry the tune well. My favorite track is "Supernatural Anesthetist" with fantastic guitar play in the apex of the tune. The most disappointing is "Riding the Scree" with a clarinet trying to replace the essential Mini-Moog from the original with a backdrop of horns that pale the fury.

D'Virgilio is no doubt a gifted drummer and vocalist, but the application here is out of place. A committed choice to mirroring or changing the original is this project's downfall. An "A" for effort.

Rewiring Genesis: A Tribute To The Lamb Lies Down on BroadwayPosted by Pete Pardo, SoT Staff Writer on 2008-11-01 07:34:19My Score: Gotta give Nick D'Virgilio plenty of credit for tackling what is long cosidered one of the 'holy grails' in prog rock history, the legendary The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway by Genesis. Over the course of 2 CD's, the drummer, along with bassist Dave Martin, keyboard player Jeff Taylor, guitarist Don Carr, plus a host of horn and string players, recreate the Lamb in their own vision, staying close to the original arrangements but injecting funky horns and lush strings in place of the Moogs and Mellotrons that we all remember. Purists might scoff at this, but it's all a rather fun listen and provides a new spin on this classic.

Lets face it, nobody will ever outdo Gabriel, Banks, Collins, Rutherford, and Hackett, but Nick and the boys give an honest interpretation here. D'Virgilio's vocals are strong as always, and while he doesn't sound anything like Peter Gabriel, he gives this his all and plays the part of Rael quite well. Taylor's layers of keyboards, mixed with the lush strings, works really well on tracks like "Broadway Melody of 1974", "Fly On a Windshied", and of course "The Carpet Crawlers". The press notes state that the inclusion of horns and strings helps give this interpretation a 'theatrical' feel, and that's quite true, as you can almost close your eyes and imagine this being some Broadway version of the Lamb done by some of todays rising prog stars and actors.

The one thing that's sort of missing here is the quirky charm & British humor that Genesis had in the 70's, but that's probably impossible to recreate. A Tribute To The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is not going to make you put away your original copy of this classic album, but instead offers a variation of that work by someone who obviously cherishes it as much as we do. For that Nick, we thank you.

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